As the government struggles to control the nation’s debt, a nonpartisan group is advocating that divorce reform could benefit the country’s financial bottom line, the Washington Times reports.

The Coalition for Divorce Reform argues that encouraging couples looking to divorce to instead work things out could majorly cut costs. According to the news source, the average divorce costs a couple $2,500, and each resulting single-parent family can cost the government between $20,000 and $30,000 per year. For these divorce-related social services, the government shells out $33 billion to $112 billion annually.

The organization disagrees with states’ laws that offer no-fault, “easy-to-divorce” programs. Instead, it hopes that states will pass its legislative model to cut divorce rates by one-third in five years

However, the news source states that many family-law scholars, divorce lawyers and domestic-violence advocates oppose delaying and lengthening the divorce process.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the current divorce rate in the U.S. is 3.4 per 1,000 total population, while the marriage rate is 6.8 per 1,000.

In a recent article in The Belleville News-Democrat focusing on a man whose outstanding child support debt was brought to the state’s attention, Cordell & Cordell attorney Richard Coffee explained the danger of defaulting on mandated child support payments and possible remedies to deal with the high-interest penalties that are often affixed to such debts.

According to the story, it was the processing of a A $250 stimulus check that brought to light the unpaid child-support debt of Carnell Williams, a Washington Park father of 6.

Because his unpaid child support and accrued penalties at the rate of 9 percent, Williams has accumulated a debt of $163,582.

Mr. Coffee explains the ways that parents who have accumulated these large penalties can seek some relief through negotiations and how the ability to make lump sum payments might be used to leverage such negotiations.

The Cordell & Cordell law firm, which bills itself as one of the largest divorce firms in the country, has been running radio ads suggesting people whose assets have tanked may want to consider divorce because they’ll lose less money to their partner, said Joseph Cordell, the firm’s principal partner.

Cordell said the advice is meant only for couples who are certain they want to divorce.

“For guys that know they’re going to end up getting divorced, they really need to realize that, oddly enough, it’s when they can least afford it that it can make the most sense,” he said.

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THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT. CORDELL & CORDELL, ST. LOUIS, MO. Attorney services are provided by licensed attorneys in every state where Cordell & Cordell offices are located. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.